The Move, like the Moody Blues, were
proof that Birmingham was part of the sixties beat boom along
with Liverpool, Manchester, London and Newcastle. They were a
product of the psychedelic era, but perhaps inevitably were heavily
influenced by the Beatles work of the time. Despite this they
were one of the most innovative groups to gain a chart presence
and even today their work sounds musically inventive.

Chris Kefford and Trevor Burton decided
to leave the group after the first few successful singles. These
included 'Flowers In The Rain' which gained notoriety for its
inclusion of a picture of the Prime Minister of the day, Harold
Wilson- taking a bath. The group were successfully sued and their
royalties for this particular record went to charity. Despite
personnel losses, and acquisition of Jeff Lynne, it was evident
that Roy Wood had become the group's driving force.

The hits went on into the 1970s, but
by the summer of 1972 the group had evolved into the 'Electric
Light Orchestra'. Wood left shortly afterwards to move his inventive
musical talents to the raucous 'Wizzard'.

It's not at all easy to find any of the Move's 1960s 45rpm material
in a picture sleeve. There is one "EP" available on
Regal Zonophone (TRZ2001), but bizarrely this runs at 33rpm-
really a 7inch long player! In any event, I've resorted to showing
you the sleeve from a 1984 re-release on the Dutch label 'br
music', because it shows a nice photo of the band in their prime.